I have two songs stuck in my head.

The first. Carbon Leaf’s “Lake of Silver Bells.” It’s from their new album, Nothing Rhymes With Woman, and when I’ve listened to the album the past week and I’ve reached that track, I will instantly repeat that track. Three or four times, even.

So maybe it’s not exactly stuck in my head, but it’s something I keep listening to.

And the reason?

It puzzles me.

I’ve been a Carbon Leaf fan for a dozen years, easy. Since Shadows in the Banquet Hall came out in 1997. (That’s one of my favorite albums to write to, by the way.)

The problem with “Lake of Silver Bells” is that it doesn’t sound like Carbon Leaf.

Instead, it sounds like Coldplay. …

I came into work this morning, to find in my e-mail inbox the Coldplay newsletter.

There’s a new free song to download, “Death Will Never Conquer.”

It’s an odd song. Piano based. Sounds like a ragtime-like riff on a Southern spiritual.

It also sounds unfinished.

It’s amiable.

But, hey, it’s free!

Coldplay’s fourth studio album, Viva La Vida, or Death and All His Friends, came out on Tuesday.

It was thanks to either Mojo or Q that I discovered Coldplay. Probably through a concert review, and whatever was said was intriguing enough that I imported The Blue Room from the UK.

So, after Parachutes and “Yellow,” when Coldplay suddenly became big, I felt like the world had discovered a band that, well, belonged to me.

Then came A Rush of Blood to the Head, which was massive and anthemic, and X&Y, which was simultaneously brilliant and mundane. (I love X&Y, but it drags horribly in the middle.)

So, Tuesday. I picked up Viva La Vida, after downloading “Violet Hill” from Coldplay’s website about a month ago and …

It must have been a review in either MOJO or Q. It must have been.

Because, otherwise, how would I have ever heard of Elbow?

Early 2004 I bought their second album, Cast of Thousands. And it was amazing. It was dark and moody Britpop, what Coldplay and Radiohead aspired to but could never quite achieve. “Fugitive Motel” and “Not a Job” were the most amazing songs I’d ever heard. There were sounds I couldn’t describe, and the vocals! Oh, my god, the vocals! Guy Garvey had a voice that sounded somehow ancient, yet mirthful despite the rawness and pain. And the gospel choir! There was a gospel choir! This music was transcendant.

Elbow sort of dropped off …

Coldplay’s new single, “Violet Hill,” can be downloaded from Coldplay’s website. But the link to find where to download can be difficult to find, and this link will take you directly to download the page.

The song should be available until next Monday.

I don’t know what the song sounds like; it’s still downloading. But I’m sure it’s splendiferous and fantabulous.

And for the record, I hate websites built entirely in Flash. I also hate websites heavy with Javascript. Flash is worse than Javascript. Javascript sucks. Flash sucks worse. And websites that combine both? Nuke them from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.

Coldplay! Woo!
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